Kronor, kransar och diadem som rollsymboler i Rubens målningar över Maria de’ Medicis liv

Sammanfattning: This is a study on crowns, wreaths and diadems as role symbols in Peter Paul Rubens’s 24 paintings for Marie de’Medici in Paris, 1622 – 1625. In these paintings, historic facts are shown with the addition of mythological gods and their symbols giving allegorical scenes, where sometimes also Christian symbols or subjects can be traced. A reader of these painted motifs therefore can choose to see the symbols as regal, Christian or mythological. The crown and the wreaths rarely present a challenge in modern interpretations, but the magnificent diadem does. Rubens chooses this diadem for higher goddesses, and for the queen a couple of times too. For some reason, this symbol is mostly misread in analyses. At this point in history, the crowns and the wreaths have been collected from divine spheres and turned into physical objects on earth used by the high and mighty. The large diadem has not; it is still only a symbol on a goddess. If and when put on a human in a portrait, the symbol gives the lady the abilities and characters of a goddess. Rubens uses his own design when turning this symbol into a physical picture;it is a high, pointed diadem with pearls and coloured gems set in gold. He has used it on goddesses both before and after the Medici commission. Today, we have seen numerous spectacular headpieces like this from late 18th century an onwards, wherefore it is an easy mistake to believe that Rubens copied what he saw instead of, as he actually did, foreboding a coming fashion. In addition to confirming this, I also suggest that it is the highest goddess Juno queen Marie is personifying. Juno is mostly known today as a goddess for women and childbirth. But she had far more masculine tasks in earlier days: she was seen as the saviour of the country and a special counsellor of the state. These two important roles are exactly what Marie de’ Medici took on when acting as regent for her young son, Louis XIII,after the murder of her husband, the late Henry IV. By putting Juno’s diadem on Marie’s head, when sitting on a throne, the divine abilities are manifested according to how a historic period could be transferred to the allegorical language in a painting at the time.